Another Humanstuck Highschoolstuck Fanfic
by Arc of Carona
Summary: Alvair Aprell is a pyrophobic 16 year old with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but when a new girl comes to town, will she help him, or will he stay the same. Rated T for swearing, mostly Karkat's and Gamzee's, and violence, rating might change
1. Chapter 1

Well, recently I've been reading fanfics of Homestuck, so I decide, why not, hope you like it

Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck, it belongs to Andrew Hussie

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

**Writing**

"(Sign Language)"

Ch. 1

"Alvair, wake up," a whisper that sounded like Death himself said to me, but I know that it was Aazoth, my older brother.

"Good morning, Aazoth," I said with a small smile and half open eyes.

And of course, he kept a straight face and said nothing, much like how I am at school. But there are times when I wish that I could just talk to my friends for once, just like old times, but why can't I?

I shrugged and took the time to look at my room. I started by looking at my clock, it was 8:22 am; it was one of those digital clocks with green numbers, and my room was decorated with a few snake posters, a silver and black computer on its desk. Its screen is an albino viper in a tree.

Though, my Troll Tag is based off my brother's interest, but I'm not sure if his is based off mine, he never told me.

My name is Alvair Aprell, I'm 16, my Troll Tag is undeadApprentice, and my interests are snakes, roleplaying, cosplaying as a Reaper and Griefing/Strifing like a Reaper with my brother, writing, music, video games like Rock Band and hanging out with my pals. I have a fear of fire, or pyrophobia for short, and I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but, five years ago I managed to finally talk to my Dad and older brother.

My dad's a Widow, my mom has been dead for six years, and my father chose not to remarry. He prefers his only company, when out, his twelve friends, and at home, his two sons.

I heard a beeping noise and decided to check my computer to see which of my friends decided to troll me, I have eleven friends on Trollian, sure enough, one of my friends, actually, my best friend, was trolling me. I decided to answer her. I always slur my 'S' sounds, but I'm not a big fan of snake puns, since I consider them stupid. But I don't slur in front of Aazoth, because he found it annoying.

gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

[GC]: H3Y 4LV41R, 4R3 YOU 4W4K3?

[UA]: Φ..Φ I jussst woke up a few ssseconds ago.

[GC]: WOW, WH3N W1LL YOU S3T YOUR 4L4RM TO S1X?

[UA]: Φ..Φ Probably tomorrow, if I have nothing to do.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Now, what's the reason why you desssided to troll me ssso early?

[GC]: W3LL, TH3 OTH3RS 4ND 1 H4V3 B33N T4LK1NG, 4ND W3 D3C1D3D TH4T TH3 OPH1UCHUS W1LL P1CK OUR L3O

[UA]: Φ..Φ SSSo, I have to pick the Leo

[GC]: Y34H, NO ON3 3LS3 W4NT3D TO DO 1T, SO, 1N 4 W4Y, 4LV41R 4PR3LL, YOU'R3 OUR L4ST HOP3

[UA]: Φ..Φ Oh. Well, what are the ressstrictions?

[GC]: WOW, YOU TOOK 1T B3TT3R TH4N 3XP3CT3D

[UA]: Φ..Φ The ressstrictions Terezi?

[GC]: OH Y3S, 1T C4N'T B3 4NYON3 WHO DO3SN'T GO TO OUR SCHOOL, 4ND 1T C4N'T B3 SOM3ON3 WHO'S 4 GR4D3 AH34D OR B3H1ND OURS

[UA]: Φ..Φ What if it's sssomeone who transssferred to our ssschool and jussst ssso happens to be in our grade?

[GC]: 1F TH3Y H4V3 TH3 L3O TR41TS, 4ND 1S 4 R3J3CT, TH3N Y3S, TH3Y COUNT

[GC]: 4ND, 1T H4S TO B3 4 G1RL, W3 4LR34DY H4V3 TOO M4NY GUYS, 4ND YOU H4V3 TO P1CK H3R B3FOR3 TH3 S3COND W33K OF SCHOOL 3NDS

[UA]: Φ..Φ Okay.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Oh yeah, I forgot that the club's reason was to let in 13 rejects. Anyway, is that it?

[GC]: Y34H, L3T 4NYON3 OF US KNOW 1F YOU FOUND OUR L3O

[UA]: Φ..Φ Okay, bye

[GC]: Y34H, S33 Y4

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

I smirked, she's right, our club has seven guys and five girls. After realizing what just happened, I did a double face palm, _I _have to find the Leo for our club?! And in three weeks no less?! I haven't spoken verbally to anyone but my dad and brother for six years! I shook my head before I even thought of _that _one and only reason why.

My club is the Zodiac Reject Club, or the ZRC for short, it was originally to be a club for rejects, Karkat was 10 when he created the club. He created it because he was sick and tired of being an odd man out, to his surprise, 10 people joined, they were just like him, I was one of those 10, and he declared Zodiac symbols as the Club's Symbols, one for each member, he decided I was the Ophiuchus, because I like snakes, and I had the traits of Ophiuchus. Two years later, another one joined and became our Sagittarius, all we need now is Leo.

After thinking, I found a piece of paper I wrote on the third day of Summer Vacation.

** Name; Zodiac- Our Roles in the club:**

** Karkat Vantas; Cancer- President**

** Terezi Pyrope; Libra- Vise-President**

** Sollux Captor; Gemini- Hacker, Technician**

** Tavros Nitram; Taurus- Secretary, Mascot**

** Aradia Megido; Aries- Historian**

** Vriska Serket; Scorpio- Luck **

** Gamzee Makara; Capricorn- Clown**

** Kanaya Maryam; Virgo- Costume Designer**

** Eridan Ampora; Aquarius- Flirt**

** Feferi Peixes; Pisces- Personal Lifeguard**

** Alvair Aprell; Ophiuchus- Planner, RP Script Writer**

** Equius Zahhak; Sagittarius- Robot Builder**

** _ _; Leo- To Be Decided**

The paper amazed me, I can't wait to know what Karkat would decide what our Leo should do, then I took a push pin, and pinned it next to the picture of me when I got out of the hospital. I looked my right forearm, the scar was no longer small, not anymore, the scar from the six year old second degree burn, it expanded, from the bend of the elbow to the wrist, now 80% of it on the outer part and a little bit on the inner part, was dark pink, same thing on now 70% on the front and sides of my shins, and now 90% of my back, it's okay now, it used to be _really _sensitive to even my own touch, but I have to cover them since they slightly burn when exposed to sunlight, I was considered lucky for not going into shock, but my mom did, she was worse than me, the doctors said she was beyond saving, at least she was unconcious, so she didn't have to die suffering.

I shook my head and focused on my given objective. So, the Leo, it should probably be someone who's a cat person, is really creative, kind, and warm-hearted, and if any dark traits, probably someone bossy and pompous. Hopefully no dark traits.

I still find it amazing how Terezi is able to read and type fluently even though she's blind. Her eyes were teal with black pupils, but they're now pale blue with white pupils, Vriska told her to stare at the sun for two hours, not really told, more like _blackmailed _her to, she didn't know her eyes were sensitive, when the two hours were done, she was already blind, Vriska got suspended for a month, and I had to take Terezi home, for three years she was blind, the day after she was blinded, she started wearing these red sunglasses, and relied on her other senses to act as her eyes.

I heard my stomach growl, it's best I get ready, Dad prefers that I get ready to start the day, well, before I have breakfast. So I got ready, and was about to head downstairs for breakfast, but I stopped, the smell of pancakes was so strong, I could taste it from upstairs, I smiled, and started heading downstairs, after I was on the third to the last step, I jumped over the last two steps and landed on the floor.

My dad looked at me and smiled, I smiled and inhaled the scent of pancakes again.

"Good morning, Al, how did you sleep?" my dad asked as he was serving pancakes.

"Pretty good, Dad," I said as I sat down.

"_Just a little tired_," I thought.

"Would you like to serve yourself?"

I nodded, but when I reached for a plate, I saw that the stove was on, and I looked down at my forearm, for that, I hesitated, and tried to hide it, but I remembered I wasn't wearing a long sleeve, or a sweater.

"Dad, I'll be right back!" and I ran up the stairs as quickly as I could, and put on a black hoodie.

Then I heard a beeping noise from my computer again, someone wanted to talk, so I sat in front of the computer and opened the file.

twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

[TA]: AV, diid you 2ee fiire agaiin?

[UA]: Φ..Φ Yeah, I jussst put on a hoodie.

[UA]: Φ..Φ SSSo I'm fine now.

[TA]: II 2wear, doe2 your pyrophobiia have two do wiith why you cover your arm and 2hiin2?!

[UA]: Φ..Φ SSSollux, onssse again, you are right.

[UA]: Φ..Φ I have to go, I'm ssstarving.

[TA]: Okay, and good luck fiindiing our Leo

twinArmageddoens [TA] ceased trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

Good thing I'm hungry, otherwise it would've ended in a fight. So I went downstairs again, this time Aazoth was at the table, cutting into four small pancakes. I went to get a plate and got two pancakes, grabbed a knife and fork, and sat down next to Aazoth.

"Which friends trolled you?" he asked before he ate a piece of pancake.

"Terezi and Sollux," I said.

"What did they need?"

"Terezi said I had to recruit the last member for our club, and Sollux just wanted to ask me something."

"Oh."

We ate in silence, after I finished, I went to wash my dishes, and went upstairs to my room, took off my hoodie, pulled up the leggings of my pants, and wrapped my favorite black bandage wrap around my right forearm and both shins.

After that was done, I put away the roll of bandage wrap, and set up Rock Band. My microphone was a headset, I would always sing a song while either playing guitar, bass, or drums, or keyboard if I was playing RB3.

I was on my fifth song, this time I was playing drums and singing, Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi, when I was almost done, I heard the door open, for that I paused the game.

"Dad went to a meeting and said you have to go to the store," said Aazoth, "and take your umbrella, sweater and trench, it's raining."

I swear, there are times when his Death-like voice gives me the creeps, but I got used to it, since that is his normal voice.

"Hold on, I'm almost done," then I resumed the game and finished.

"(If you still hate the trench, you could give it to someone who would be happy to want it)," he decided to say in sign language.

"(Yeah, I'm going)," I responded in sign language.

When he left, I grabbed my black umbrella, put my hoodie back on, along with my olive green trench coat, and a silver scarf that Eridan gave me for my 16th birthday. Aazoth was right, I had this trench for almost two years, the color is still the same, but it now reaches above the ankle.

If someone asks how tall I am, I'm probably almost shoulder length to Equius. I went downstairs, grabbed the grocery list and money, smiled at Aazoth, and opened the door, Aazoth was right again, it's raining. I went out, opened the umbrella and started walking, I went through the park since it was a shortcut, I went inside the store and got what was on the grocery list, which was: bread, apples, eggs, and candy for me and Aazoth.

While I was heading back home, I heard Aazoth yelling and swearing.

"DAMMIT MEULIN!" he shouted.

Meulin Leijon is a friend of his, from what he said, she's deaf, the girlfriend of Kurloz Makara, another friend of my brother, and is the older brother of my friend, Gamzee.

As I got inside, my brother's face showed mixed feelings of anger, irritation, and annoyance.

"Are you okay?" I asked with a bit of worry in my tone.

Aazoth sighed, then said, "Meulin said that she's going to stay with Kurloz tonight and needs us to pick up her sister?"

"What, you never told me Meulin had a younger sister, where is she anyway?!"

"From what she texted me, the Zahhak household."

"Oh, well let's go."

I put the groceries away, waited for Aazoth to put on his jacket and get his umbrella, and when he did, we went outside and got in his car, and drove to the home where my friend Equius and his older brother, my brother's friend, Horuss live.

"Aazoth?" I said.

"Yeah?" he responded.

"What do know about Meulin's sister?"

"Not much, from what she told me, she's your age, her name is Nepeta, and she just moved here recently."

"What about her mom?"

"From what Meulin said, their mom chose to move here because her friends were here."

"Her friends?"

"Remember when Dad talked about Diana?"

"The one who was known as the Disciple in their LARPing?"

"Yep, _that_ Diana."

"Oh yeah, what was Dad again?"

"Come on, you should know that one," he said with a smirk.

" ... ... The Reaper's Henchman or the Henchman for short?"

"Yahtzee!" he called out.

"So where's Diana to go pick her up?"

"I don't know, probably went to the Parent Meeting with Dad."

"So Dennis won't be there either."

"Probably, just like Dad trusts me to take care of you, Dennis trusts Horuss to watch over Equius when he's gone."

"Okay."

Dennis, when he LARPed with my dad, he was known as Executor Darkleer, but instead of an 'X' for Executor it's a percent sign, and was also known as the Expatriot, but instead of an 'ot', it was an 8.

The drive over there was silent the rest of the way there, the only thing that was making noise was the radio playing a song by The All American Rejects.

When we got there, we saw a two story house much like ours, except it has horse stable next to it, and the house was indigo with a black roof. The Zahhaks were known for racing horses.

But like me, Equius is a reject, whose only friends are the other rejects in his club, he is hated by guys who envy him for his strength, and girls don't like him because no matter how _gentle _he tries to be, just one light touch by him, and you get a bruise, and due to the fact that he _rarely _smiles, the last time we saw him smile was when he first met Aradia. If he was to choose a weapon, he would use the bow and arrow, and if the bow breaks (which unfortunately always does), he uses his fists.

When we got out of the car, we took out our umbrellas, opened them, and went to the front door, and Aazoth knocked, and the door was opened by a familiar 19 year old man with black hair that was wear a hat that covered all but his ponytail, and what's like a small Mohawk that leans forward, and was wearing goggles, so it was hard to see his indigo eyes, a brown pajama shirt and black pajama pants, and was wearing indigo slippers, he was slightly tanned like his younger brother from being in the sun, the 19 year old in front of me is none other than Horuss Zahhak.

Horuss gasped in happiness.

"Hello, Aazoth, Alvair, how are you two?" he asked in that same tone of happiness.

I did a thumbs up.

"Good," said Aazoth.

"Oh, come in, you'll catch a cold if you stay out a little longer."

When we got it, we were welcomed by a scent of smoke and a pile of robot parts, the inside of the house was okay, it had a wall of ribbons and rows of trophies, a flat screen TV and in front of it, a pile of MLP DVDs which I swore to Equius that I wouldn't tell, and the kitchen had vegetables, since Equius believes that 'animals should be looked upon with admiration,' and I agree, it's wrong that animals get killed.

"EQUIUS, COME DOWN HERE, THE APRELLS ARE HERE!" Shouted Horuss.

I heard small thuds as feet landed on the wooden steps, and landed on tile, in front of me was my friend, he was wearing a black tank top, his tanned face has a bit of acne due to sweat from either being tired, exhausted, nervous, or uneasy, he has straight shoulder length black hair, is muscular but not that muscular, (because I told him something that stuck to him, '**If you keep getting more and more muscular, sure you'll be able to punch harder, but you'll be slower due to how heavy you're muscles are**'), and indigo blue eyes that were hidden under cracked black sunglasses.

"Hello Alvair, it has been a few months since I had last saw you," he said politely.

I nodded, he stuck out a fist, and I gave him a fist bump.

"So what brings you two to our home?" asked Horuss.

"Meulin told us to pick up Nepeta and that she'll pick her up from our house," Aazoth explained.

"I wonder why she couldn't just pick her up from our home?"

"She told me to, since our house was closer, apparently I'm returning the favor for treating me to lunch since I forgot my wallet."

"Ah, well, okay," he turns to Equius, "tell Nepeta that she's leaving."

Equius just nodded and went upstairs.

After a few seconds, Equius came downstairs with a girl behind him.

She was about chin length to me, she has mid-neck length wavy light brown hair, olive green eyes, skin that's as light as mine, was wearing a shirt with a cat on it, a blue hat with cat ears, black pants, and shoes that were as blue as her hat.

I figured that she might know sign language since her sister is deaf.

"(Hello)," I signed.

Since my friends don't know and understand sign language, I write down what I want to tell them.

"(Hi)," she responded, and lightly smiled.

"You can talk to Alvair if you like, he can hear you, he's still trying to be social," my brother explained.

"Trying to be social, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice was kind of like that of a preteen.

"He has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

She gasped, "What happened?"

"When my dad and I went to my friend Aranea's birthday party, our previous house caught on fire, he got burned on both shins, his right forearm, and his back, my mom was so badly burned, she died when she was still unconscious-" He stopped as tears started shedding, but shook his head to try to control himself.

I decided to finish the story, "(After my mother died, and we moved into our new house, I didn't talk to anyone, not even my friends and family, but after five months, I finally spoke to my dad and brother, my best friend was tired of me isolating myself, so she grabbed my left arm and dragged me to where my friends were, which was very little back then, and told me to hang out with them and she gave me a notebook and said to write what I want to say, I had only four friends, but now I have eleven)."

When I finished, I noticed that Nepeta was crying, then she hugged me.

"Th-that's ... h-horrible," she said.

I made a shushing sound and patted her back.

"Well, let's go, it's late," my brother said.

When he said that, Nepeta has already calmed down, and she went to get this kitten she brought with her, since she didn't bring a sweater, I gave her my trench coat, and since it was still raining, I let her keep my trench.

When we got in the car, my brother asked Nepeta which school she was going to after Summer Vacation.

"Alternia High," she responded.

"Well, what a coincidence, Alvair goes to that school," he said and quickly ruffled my spikey black hair during a stop light.

"What grade are you gonna be in?" he asked.

"I'll be a Junior," she responded

"Well, so is Alvair, are you, creative?"

Then it hit me, he was checking if she was suitable to be the Leo for the ZRC.

"You can say that," said Nepeta.

"I can tell you like cats,"

"Yeah."

"Last question, there's this club I know that accepts rejects, who were bullied and/or outcasted, if you were a reject, would you join?"

"_Why the hell did he ask her SUCH A QUESTION_?!" I thought in anger.

"Probably, I was an odd man out because everyone made fun of me, and it was lonely after Equius left two years ago, he was my one and only friend."

"_That's right, Equius said that when he moved he felt regret for leaving his friend_."

"Well, that club I told you about, Alvair's in it, as well as Equius."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"I'll ... consider it."

"You have three weeks."

"Okay?"

When we got to my house, I gave Nepeta some PJ's that no longer fit me, they were black with blue lightning streaks.

"(There's a bathroom two doors down the right)," I told her.

"Thanks," said Nepeta with a smile, and she practically skipped to the bathroom.

For some reason, I feel, tired, so I went to my room, where I found the kitten on the floor, he looked to be about three to four weeks old, his fur was all black, even his nose and the skin on his feet were black, his eyes were grayish yellow, and from what I'm guessing, he was a domestic short haired kitten.

Well, I changed into pajamas, put my hoodie back on, grabbed my notebook and laid on the floor right next to him, and stared at the ceiling, then I felt a pressure on my right arm, right above the elbow, and felt it shifting to my chest. The kitten had got on my chest .

I smirked and lightly petted him behind the ears, he started purring, then he got off and rested next to my neck.

"_I'm glad it's not my club shirt, otherwise Tavros would complain since he has a cat allergy._"

"I think I'm gonna call you Night, because that's what you remind me of," I muttered.

"So you _can_ talk."

I looked up, Nepeta was standing right next to me, she was wearing what I lent her, which were a little baggy on her. I just started realizing that she heard me speak, and I started panicking.

"Wha- whe- h- AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" I stuttered, then screamed.

I got up, dashed to the bathroom, closed the door, locked it, sat down, and leaned against the door. I started taking a deep breath, and clutched my notebook.

"_I can't believe she heard, I should've been more careful, what should I do now?_"

I was about to panic again, but I stopped to calm down, I opened my notebook started to think about what to draw. Then I heard knocking, I reacted.

"Um, Alvair, are you okay?"

I trembled, Nepeta's on the other side of the door.

"_Why? Why is she on the other side of the door? Why, why, why?_" I thought over and over again.

I heard fingers drumming on the door.

"Alvair, I'm sorry that I scared you, I didn't mean to."

I opened my notebook and wrote:

"**It's okay, my friends have been trying to get me to talk for six years.**"

I tore out the page and slid it under the door.

"Wow, did Equius try?"

I couldn't help but laugh, he and Gamzee were the only ones who _didn't _try.

"What's so funny?"

I wrote:

"**He was one of the two who didn't even bother to**."

"Um, okay?"

"**I'll be out in a bit, I have to take off the bandage wrap on my forearm and shins.**"

"Okay."

I pulled up the right sleeve of my sweater, took off the bandage wrap, and did the same thing when I lifted up the leggings of my PJ pants, then I went outside and went my room, Nepeta was sitting on my bed with Night on her lap. I took off my sweater. I turned my head and saw that Nepeta was staring at the scar, when I saw the part of my arm that was pink, the memories I tried not to remember this morning flashed before my eyes.

The sensation of burning pain on my forearm, shins, and back, Mom picking me up, not caring that her own arm caught on fire, the three words she told me before he jumped in the pool with me in her arms, something I didn't do, 'hold your breath.'

I shook my head, I don't want to remember it anymore.

"Are you okay?"

I looked at Nepeta, and that was when I realized I have started crying. She was about to pat my back, but stopped before she even touched it, and patted my head instead.

"(It's okay if you pat my back, it won't hurt)," I signed with an assuring look on my face.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

I nodded.

She softly patted my back a few times before she stopped.

It was silent for a bit, but was interrupted by a yawn I did, and I laid on my back, I was about to go to sleep but remembered that I had a guest in my room, so I got up, and I took Nepeta and Night to one of the Guest bedrooms.

"(You'll be sleeping here tonight)."

"Okay, good night," she smiled.

"(Good night, and don't tell anyone that you heard me talk)."

"Okay."

And I put Night on the floor, went to my room, and fell asleep

* * *

Well, that's it, review what you thought, my birthday's in two more days, so I'm excited \l ^^ l/

And I'm debating on what couples there should be, I already chose two


	2. Chapter 2

Well, thank you to those who reviewed, I feel happy, and sorry it took long, I have to deal with school, and such, after a while of consideration, I finally came up with pairings among the beta trolls, but what would be the fun in spoiling it, also, there will be a Yaoi and a Yuri pairing, and just to let you know, there _will_ be swearing in this chapter. Please review, as fellow fanfic authors would request.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Homestuck, I only own all of the OC's in this fanfic,_ all_ of them.

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Writing"**

"(Sign Language)"

Ch. 2

It was a horrid sleep which was unfortunately saved by a storm. I realized I was crying and hurting when I woke up, and my arm, back, and shins had a burning sensation again; I hate it when that happens. At times when I remember my worst memory, my body would remember what it suffered through that day. When I heard another thunder clap, I just sighed and sat there; it's not like anyone would notice or care that I was awake, so I waited for the storm to pass. When the storm finally died down, I went back to sleep, school starts in another six days. It happened again but the sensation wasn't as bad as before.

There are three symptoms that are caused by P.T.S.D. one is hyper arousal, which I think is mentally horrible, based off what I witnessed, now that I think about it, they're all mentally horrible. Those who have hyper arousal have their physiology in high gear, the symptoms for it would be having trouble sleeping and focusing, and would be easily startled, irritated, pissed off, agitated, and hyper vigilant. I actually know someone who has this, his name is Darruk Avneer. He only has half of the symptoms for hyper arousal, he gets easily startled, pissed off and irritated, and he has troubled sleeping, everything else, he got over. Another is re-experiencing; the symptoms are nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive memories, exaggerated reactions to things that remind them of what happened, and the worst one, when the body itself remembers. This is the one I have, my body would remember what happened, but only at times when I least expect it, and few times when I do. Numbing, which is the final one, is what I consider the saddest of the three. The symptoms are feeling robotic, disconnected from feelings and vitality, and in their places is a sense of deadness. There is also when they have a loss of interest in life and other people, feel hopeless, isolate themselves, avoid thoughts and feelings that associates with the traumatic event, and would feel detached and estranged from others, as well as withdrawal, and depression. Aradia never told me if she did have P.T.S.D., but I'm sure she does since she has the symptoms, and when I asked, she would drop the subject, I probably asked five times before I decided to stop asking. How I know about the symptoms, I looked it up on the internet.

At the end of the dream, someone appeared, which just annoyed me. She was known to people as, the "Spider Bitch," I even call her that, but only when she irritates, mocks, or pisses me off, but I would call her by name as well, when she isn't, which would be a rare moment that is needed to be cherished, I would just call her by her name.

Her name is Vriska Serket, everyone knows Vriska; she has blonde hair with a few blue streaks, light skin, cerulean blue eyes, glasses with the left lens colored black. In order to hide her left blind eye, and a left arm that was slightly crooked compared to her right, I'm pretty sure Sollux isn't apologizing to her anytime soon. Her choice of clothes is a black T-Shirt, a gray jacket with the left sleeve torn off, blue jeans, and red and white sneakers. I really hate her, I still don't forgive her for what she did to Tavros, Terezi, and Aradia. Sollux got his revenge on her for what she did to Aradia. Vriska's also my rival, she used to be Eridan's, but they no longer are, I forgot why, he believes she probably grew tired of him, but all I can say is that she found out that I hated her, and declared me her new rival, and I said okay through my notebook. I considered it a mistake out of the entire mistakes I have ever made in the whole 16 years I've been living in this world. She never left me alone, we would grief almost _every_ school day, _and, _upon all the times we griefed, she would tease me or 'flirt' in the most perverted way possible _just_ to get me off guard, she won some, I won others, how Eridan managed to put up with her, I have no clue about it. But, there are those very few times that we would complement and say good things about each other, again, another rare thing to cherish.

In that dream, she said something, but I couldn't hear what she said.

Well, that surprised me, but I should've gotten used to it by now. All my dreams recently would involve the memory of what happened, and at times, someone appears and says something I couldn't hear. By the time I woke up again, I checked the clock to see what time it was, it was 6:30, I was slightly irritated that I woke up earlier than I got used to during the summer, but I have to get used to waking up thirty minutes earlier than that.

"Spider bitch," I muttered in irritation.

Then, as if on cue, I heard a beeping noise on my computer, so I walked up to it, sat down, and opened Trollian, when I did, I instantly got irritated. Why the hell is she trolling me so damn early?!

arachnidsGrip [AG] began trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

[AG]: AAAAAAAAlly, are you there?

[UA]: Φ..Φ HISSSSSS

[UA]: Φ..Φ Vrissska, I told you not to call me that! What do you want ssso early in the morning?!

[AG]: Aw, are you saying it's wrong for me to talk to my 8eloved rival who uses phi sym8ols as sn8ke eyes?

[UA]: Φ..Φ You never fail to get on my nerves, "rival."

[AG]: I'm not here to flirt, I'm already d8ing someone.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Is that ssso?

[AG]: Yes, and d8n't 8e a 8astard and s8y that you w8nder what she s8w in me, you kn8w really well that I have a good side to me 8esides my awes8me side.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Of courssse I know that, and besssides, how can anyone sssee that ssside of you if you keep up with your "awesssome" ssside. But I do know that you have a good ssside, it was your sssanity that ssstopped you from decapitating me with my own ssscythe. But overall, I ssstill hate you for what you did, and if I didn't, we wouldn't be in the hate relationship we're in right now.

[AG]: That was well said and 8eautiful, and I h8 you too.

[UA]: Φ..Φ SSSo, who is it?

[AG]: Would you 8e surprised?

[UA]: Φ..Φ If it's Kanaya, no.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Hello?

[AG]: How did you know it was Kanaya?

[UA]: Φ..Φ Kanaya had a crush on you sssinssse we were all 13, how did you not know then?

[AG]: Well, I'm pretty sure a lot of us have told you this, 8ut good luck finding our Leo.

[UA]: Φ..Φ You're the third one thisss week.

[AG]: D8mmit, I was hoping to 8e the 8th one!

[AG]: Anyways, I'll see you the day before the final day.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Yesss.

[AG]: Sn8ke 8astard.

[UA]: Φ..Φ HISSSSSS

[UA]: Φ..Φ SSSuck a truck, SSSpider Bitch!

[AG]: L8r.

arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

As I exited the site, I groaned in irritation and did a double face palm, stupid Vriska, always teasing me before we finish our conversation and calling me Ally and Snake Bastard, but that's somewhat of our hate relationship. If this was earlier in the day, I would've ran to the basement and beat up the punching bag that Dad placed a few years ago.

I lay back on my bed and thought of what Vriska said. She finally returned Kanaya's feelings? Kanaya must be happy. Then I realized what else Vriska said, how could I have forgotten, the ZRC is having a party to celebrate the second-to-last day of summer vacation. I better bring pizza, I'm always in charge of bringing pizza, remember, one cheese for Equius, since he's a vegetarian, and unless I want to get scolded by Feferi, don't add anchovies on any of the pizzas. I heard a beeping noise again, just my luck, I got up again and checked, it was my boss, I answered her instantly.

assassinationUpsilon [AU] began trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

[AU]: HΣY YΩU.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Oh, hey Nafiri.

[AU]: HΣLLΩ, HΩΨ IS MY ΓΛVΩRITΣ QUIΣT RΣPΣΛR?

[UA]: Φ..Φ Good, how's my karaoke sssinger, who's alssso a ssstrategic assssassssin?

[AU]: GΩΩD, I THINK YΩU SHΩULD TRY SINGING ΨITH US ΛT THΣ KΛRΛΩKΣ.

[UA]: Φ..Φ I'm good, I'm not much of a sssinger, as you can tell.

[AU]: NΩ ΩNE HAS ΣVΣR HΣΛRD YΩU SING, ΛLVΛIR.

[UA]: Φ..Φ I know.

[AU]: IT ΨΩULD BΣ CΩΩL IF ΨΣ CΩULD HΣΛR YΩU SING JUST ΩNCΣ.

[UA]: Φ..Φ It might happen, but not yet.

[AU]: I WΛS ΨΩNDΣRING IF YΩU ΨΩULD LIKΣ TΩ GΩ TΩ THE KΛRAΩKΣ PLACΣ WITH US ΩN FRIDΛY?

[UA]: Φ..Φ Sure, why not, I do enjoy hearing you and the others sssing.

[AU]: I HΛVΣ TΩ GΩ, SΣΣ YΛ.

assassinationUpsilon [AU] ceased trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

My friend, Nafiri Monayo, is an intellegent girl who likes strategies, reading, assassins, owls, karaoke, video games, and ancient Greek and Latin symbols. I met her when I was younger, along with six other people, and yes, one of them was wild child guitarist Darruk Avneer.

I decided to finally get ready, I put on a white shirt, with my blue hooded vest and jeans, along with black socks and my pair of silver and black sneakers. I'll put on bandage wrap later, maybe after I brush my teeth and comb my hair. I'd rather not get the wrap on my forearm wet, the reason why I even where bandage wrap in the first place is because my burns are sensitive to sunlight, as for my back, I would wear sunscreen, since I never have enough bandage wrap to cover my whole torso.

By the time I finished my morning routine, I headed downstairs for breakfast. I'll probably have cereal today, I haven't eaten any recently. As I looked into the kitchen, Dad and Aazoth were already at the table, the simple wooden table for four, but from what I see, I see two chairs that are empty, and it hurt me. I grabbed my right wrist and tightened my grip, but let go after a few seconds. I headed to the kitchen to grab a bowl, got the box of Lucky Charms, and served myself. I said nothing the whole time since I wasn't sure if Nepeta was still here or not. It's not like I dislike her, I'm just worried that she might hear me again, and if she told, it will cause a chain reaction of telling and whoever tried to get me to talk will try even harder, and they won't be as merciful as they are now. But she seems trustworthy, but I shouldn't get my hopes up. In my mind, I gave myself a facepalm, why is it when I think of something, I have a doubt for it?! I ate in silence.

"You okay, Al?" My father asked in concern.

I just nodded.

"Aazoth, did you bring someone in the house?" Dad asked Aazoth calmly. "Your brother would always remain silent when someone else is here."

"Yes, there is, I'm dropping her off after she eats," Aazoth said in a death-like monotone voice again.

"She? Did one of your friends come over?"

"No, I was in debt with Meulin, I had to pick up her sister since she treated me to lunch."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and you know once I give a promise, I keep it."

That's my brother for you, he may be emotionless and have a death-like monotone voice, but when he promises someone anything, he _will _keep his promise, he had no friends when he was younger, but when he did, he's doing _everything _he can to make them not dislike him, it's a curse for him.

"I completely forgot about that, Diana did tell me, but it was months after she moved away, which was of course, when Alvair was six months old."

Before Aazoth could say anything else, I heard taps on the wooden steps as Nepeta was coming downstairs.

When she got to the kitchen, I saw that she looked tired.

"(Good morning)," I signed with a small smile.

"Good morning," she responded, and then yawned.

"(How did you sleep?)"

"I slept well."

I was pretty sure my dad was shocked because I was talking to someone without a notebook.

"Would you like to eat something before you have to leave?" my dad asked.

My dad, as most people would call, 'Theodore "Thanatos" Aprell' was happy that I befriend the youngest daughter of his first friend. For a rich person, or blue blood, my dad's a good man, he sees everyone as equals, like Samuel Vantas, one of my dad's friends, who LARP'ed as The Signless and is the father of my friend Karkat, and my brother's friend, Kankri.

Nepeta nodded to my dad's question, then she sat down in the empty chair that was between me and my brother, and across my dad. I continued eating, which was mostly silent, but Nepeta broke the silence by asking me questions.

"So, what is the club you and Equius are in?" She asked.

I coughed when she asked. What brought her to ask about the ZRC?! But I chose to answer anyway, Dad said, when someone asks you something, you have

"(It's called the Zodiac Rejects Club, or the ZRC for short.)" I signed after putting a spoonful of cereal in my mouth.

"Why Zodiac?"

"(Most clubs have some sort of symbol; our President and creator of the club, Karkat, chose zodiacs because they represented each member's personality and how they are unique, all we need is someone to be Leo.)"

"How many members are in the club?"

"(There are twelve members.)"

"Isn't there only twelve zodiacs?"

"(Yes, but it is proven that there is a zodiac known as Ophiuchus, it was to be between Scorpio and Sagittarius, but it was never added, because it would mess up the cycles of each zodiac, if Karkat didn't say that Ophiuchus counted, then I wouldn't be in the club.)"

"How do you know if they are purrfect fur the symbol?"

Cat puns? Eh, Eridan and Feferi use fish puns, and at rare times, Equius would use cow and/or horse puns, then correct himself, but overall, I don't mind at all. Though, I wonder why Nepeta clamped her mouth.

"(There are a lot of conditions for each one, for example, you need to have the personality of that zodiac.)"

"What about a member?"

"(For being a member in general, you have to have been chosen by a member who's already in the club, you have to be a reject, the same grade as us, you have to follow the rules, especially the ones consider stupid, and after two weeks, Karkat will tell you what your role in the club is.)"

"What do you even do?"

"(Each day, one member has to pick what the club would do, which is mostly LARPing or griefing, we practically do anything, except kill each other, which was banned from the start, eating Gamzee's special pies, also banned from the start, except for Gamzee, Vriska's way of LARPing, which was banned three years ago, and griefing without protection, which, like the first two, were banned from the start.)"

"What's griefing?"

"(Strifing.)"

"Why can't you do Vriska's LARP?"

"(Because the three that LARPed with her; learned the lesson of not messing with her the hard way, and two of them got something as a permanent reminder.)"

"How?"

"(Long story short, Tavros became paralyzed from the waist down, Aradia went into a three month coma, and when she woke up, she became emotionless, she doesn't care about anything, and almost all the things she found interesting became boring to her, but, little by little, she's becoming better, and Terezi became permanently blind, and I think the reason why was because Vriska punished them for not doing what she wanted.)"

Nepeta had a look of shock on her face, but proceeded with her questions.

"So, how many more members do you need?"

"(We only need one more, and she will be the Leo.)"

"She?"

"(The other club members had talked, made a decision, and the decision was for me to get the final member, and it has to be a girl who is a reject, a Junior, has the Leo traits and goes to Alternia High School and I have less than three weeks to pick her, see if the others approve, and be the one to make the pact with her for her initiation, but once she joins, and assuming if she doesn't leave, she will stay.)"

"How does your club do the initiation?"

"(I cannot tell, it is rule 5, which is never tell anyone how we do our initiation.)"

"What is your role in the club?"

"(I'm the script writer.)"

"Last question, how long have you've been in the club?"

"(Six years.)"

"It sounds interesting."

"(I never regretted joining.)"

After I realized I finished eating, I headed upstairs after cleaning up. I'll probably play a game or something like that. I'll probably play Legend of Zelda today, I'm not in the mood for music games, which is what I mostly have.

As I got inside my room, I turned on the light, the light is getting dimmer, and it'll probably last a few more weeks before I have to get it changed again. I set up the red Wii I have, as well as the red remote, and attached one of the four nunchucks to it. They were awesome Christmas presents, as well as the other things I got. Right, The Legend of Zelda, but which one though? Should I play Twilight Princess or Skyward Sword?

If Terezi was here, she'd suggest flipping a coin, so that's what I'll do. I found a nickel on my computer desk, right next to the computer. If it lands on heads, I'll play Twilight Princess, if tails, I'll play Skyward Sword. Maybe I should refinish Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days on my DS Lite, but then me setting up the Wii would've been for naught, I'll play said game later. I flipped the coin, I saw it go up in the air and back down, still spinning, until I caught it, I clamped it on the back of my left hand, in between my hands was the coin's answer. I lifted my right hand off my left, the coin said tails; Skyward Sword it is.

I went to the shelf where I keep my variety of games, and took the game disc out of its case. After I placed the game in, I strapped the Wii remote on my right wrist, but when I don't wear bandage wrap, it has to be loose. I decided to play on a new file since I finished the game last month. This was actually the first Legend of Zelda game I played, and my favorite, for said reason. Link would wield a sword and shield, which started making me think what I would pick for a secondary weapon. If I were to choose a secondary weapon, it would be a sword staff, not a regular sword, since I'm used to fighting with staffs, and my scythe is practically a steel staff with a long somewhat curved carbon steel blade.

Then I heard a beeping yet again and turned my attention to the monitor. I walked to the monitor and sat down, whoever's trolling me right now is receiving a piece of my mind. When I opened Trollian, I took back what I said, this will either be a sad or awkward, long conversation.

apocalypseArisen [AA] began trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

[AA]: hell0 alvair

[UA]: Φ..Φ Hello Aradia, what brought you to talk to me?

[AA]: i just wanted t0 talk t0 s0me0ne

[UA]: I underssstand, as you are the firssst friend I ever made, I'm here to lisssten to what you have to sssay.

[AA]: it has been b0ring this summer there wasnt anything t0 even c0nsider fun

[UA]: Φ..Φ I sssee.

[UA]: Φ..Φ You could come over if you'd like, we could LARP, play Lego Indiana Jones, Rock Band or sssomething like that, I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind.

[AA]: fine ill g0

[UA]: Φ..Φ You really don't care, going to my house would probably not be as boring as staying at home.

[UA]: Φ..Φ Am I right?

[AA]: yes

[AA]: hey alvair

[UA]: Φ..Φ Yesss?

[AA]: y0u kn0w what is an exact m0nth fr0m n0w right

[UA]: Φ..Φ Aranea's birthday.

[AA]: and

[UA]: Φ..Φ The day my firssst houssse burnt to the ground.

[AA]: yes and the day y0u had a mild c0ncussi0n

[UA]: Φ..Φ I'm pretty sure it was a minor comatossse, but either way, I would rather not be reminded of that day, it was the lassst time I sssaw my mother alive before I woke up from it.

[AA]: actually what i had three years ag0 was a c0mat0se y0u w0ke up after a week while i w0ke up after three m0nths

[UA]: Φ..Φ I know.

[AA]: do you miss her

[UA]: Φ..Φ Asssking that is the sssame as asssking Terezi if she was blind.

[AA]: s0 its 0bvi0us

[UA]: Φ..Φ Yesss.

[AA]: i actually miss talia myself

[UA]: Φ..Φ Can I tell you sssomething?

[AA]: sure

[UA]: Φ..Φ Remember when Equiusss sssaid he has a friend named Nepeta?

[AA]: yes

[UA]: Φ..Φ Well, I resssently found out that she is Meulin's little sssissster.

[AA]: interesting

[UA]: Φ..Φ Well, Aazoth was being nosy and asssked her questions to sssee if she would be good for a Leo candidate, without her knowing of courssse, until probably now.

[AA]: now

[UA]: Φ..Φ I told her my mission.

[AA]: i w0nder why aaz0th w0uld d0 s0mething like that and d0nt w0rry I w0nt tell karkat

[UA]: Φ..Φ Thank you.

[UA]: Φ..Φ I think he was doing ssso because I wouldn't.

[AA]: it w0uld actually make sense due t0 y0u being

[UA]: Φ..Φ Being what?

[AA]: shy

[UA]: Φ..Φ Oh, well, I'm not as shy as I usssed to be, I was practically the club's zombie, but I'm getting better, and whatnot.

[AA]: except

[UA]: Φ..Φ Except verbally talking to you guys, which you and the others have been trying to get me to do for the passst sssix years.

[AA]: d0nt get it wr0ng we are happy that y0u talk t0 us thr0ugh n0tes and tr0llian

[UA]: Φ..Φ And by "we," you mean "they," because you ssstill don't care.

[AA]: slightly actually

[UA]: Φ..Φ SSSlightly what?

[AA]: i slightly care

[UA]: Φ..Φ Well, ssslight is better than nothing, and what I do missss from you is your joyousss, adventuressss ssself.

[AA]: y0u usually w0uld enj0y 0ur c0nversati0ns because y0u w0uld make a private r0leplay between us and i take the r0le 0f a gh0st while y0u are a reaper and the setting is purgat0ry

[UA]: Φ..Φ Yesss and maybe you're right, there was a way that I ssstopped talking in the firssst plassse, but I do know that Vrissska's way to get me to talk isn't working at all, yet she ssstill tries with that sssame way.

[UA]: Φ..Φ But you're also getting better, and that's good too!

[AA]: yes

[AA]: ill be g0ing n0w damara said breakfast is ready

[UA]: Φ..Φ I'll sssee you later then.

[AA]: g00d luck in finding the le0

apocalypseArisen [AA] ceased trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

Terezi may be my best friend, but Aradia is my first friend, we have been friends since we were eight, through Aradia, I met Terezi, Karkat, and Sollux, and if I remember correctly, we have been friends ever since. I still feel bad for her, after she woke up from her coma, she had started being emotionless and would talk in a monotone voice, most of the things she considered fun were now boring to her, and would talk about things that even depressed me, I don't know why or how, but she managed to creep out Karkat, but like me, she's getting better, and that's good. When I had my mild concussion, she would visit on a daily basis and vise-versa when she had her coma. Aradia's like a sister to me, we have been really close before she had her coma, now, the bond is hardly there, it's as if the Aradia I knew very well, and grew up with, died in that coma, and the only thing left was an empty shell, a ghost practically. But I still care for her nonetheless, and she cares about me too, just, not as much as she used to.

When I turned around, I saw Nepeta behind me. It startled me somewhat since I was used to Aradia doing so. Nepeta was wearing the clothes she wore yesterday; the only thing that's different is that she was also wearing the trench coat I let her keep.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked curiously.

"(The club's historian.)" I signed with a straight face.

"Oh."

"(So what brings you to my room?)"

"I was going to give you my Troll Tag."

"(You have a troll tag?)"

"Yes, do you?

"(Of course.)"

I grabbed a torn piece of paper, and wrote undeadApprentice on it. Nepeta must've written hers before heading downstairs for breakfast, because she just handed a folded piece of paper. I just gave a simple nod as thanks.

"Well, I'll talk to you later, Aazoth is taking me home."

"(Okay, I'll talk to you soon.)"

Nepeta turned around and went left, when she passed by again, she had Night in her arms, and she headed downstairs. I heard the house door open and close, Nepeta must've already left. I never really knew where Meulin lived; all I remember from yesterday was Aazoth saying that she lived close. Since Nepeta is best friends with Equius, those who plan to choose Nepeta as a victim, they might instantly change their minds, most people are scared of Equius, and even _I_ am scared of him.

After unfolding and reading what was on the paper. I went to my computer and opened Trollian, then clicked on the Add Chum button and typed arsenicCatnip. A message popped up saying if I was sure, and of course, I clicked yes. I debated whether or not to troll her right now, but decided not to. All I know is that it will be a better conversation once it commences. If she is to be the candidate, I need to know if she is into role-playing.

I turned off the game I had on and went downstairs, I needed to tell Dad about Aradia coming over in another six hours, either I probably played for a while and or I had a long conversation with Aradia. Though Aradia is one of the five prettiest girls in the club, I am _really _glad I don't have a crush on her; Equius dislikes her because she is poor, he's practically your everyday formal rich guy, he sees the non-rich as commoners, but he likes her because, as I said before, she's pretty. Then there's Sollux, he still felt bad for what he did, during the time she went in a coma, he started going out with Feferi just to move on and is really happy, but I know that he still has feelings for Aradia. Those are the reasons why I'm mad at both of them, because Equius sees lowly of her, and Sollux for harming my sister because _Vriska_ blackmailed him. I can't fall for her anyway, if I do, I'll just fuel a fire, and I want nothing to do with fire.

As I got off the last step of the staircase, I saw my dad on the couch, watching TV- never mind, he was playing video games, I just noticed the Play Station 2 remote in his hands, he was playing Call of Duty, I don't know which one, since I don't care. I know some people play this game, but not me, I'm not really into firearms; everyone in my Grief Class knows that.

"Dad?" I asked as if I did something I wasn't supposed to and was going to tell him.

He paused the game and turned his head to where I was.

"Yes?" He asked with that same look of concern from this morning.

"Aradia's coming over at three, I jussst wanted to let you know."

My dad said nothing for a bit, and then he said okay.

"Alvair?" he asked me.

"Yesss Dad?" I responded.

"You should practice your strifing, school starts in a few more days, and its best to be prepared."

"It's griefing, Dad, and okay."

"You and your friends may call it griefing, but others call it strifing."

"You called it griefing when you were in high ssschool."

"I know; I just wanted to mess with you," he winked after saying that.

I just shook my head and headed downstairs, since Dad was right, I'll be in Grief 3 when school starts, so it's best I prepare for a good grief session.

Grief Class, or as others call it, Strife Class, is a sparring class as well as a self-defense class, like my father and brother, I chose a scythe as my grief weapon, to carry out the tradition, that, and they were the only weapons we had. I was given my scythe at age 13, and yes, the blade is real, whoever has a weapon with a blade, it's real, whoever uses a weapon that doesn't have bullets or blades, they're real, if you use a firearm, you have to use red paint bullets, the color of paint is optional, but most people go for red. The one who taught me to fight with a scythe was my brother, who was taught by my father. I enjoy Grief Class, as Mr. Noir once said, 'In this class, you'll learn things you'll never learn in P.E., except hand to hand self-defense, but that's only for a day, here in this class, you learn that twice a week.'

I scouted the basement to find my scythe, where is it? All I saw was a double bladed scythe that was taller than me, with the two blades on one side and the bottom steel blade was smaller than the top obsidian one; that was Dad's. I saw another one that was smaller than Dad's, and was similar to mine, which was only one blade, but this was my brother's, his scythe's blade was made of steel, while mine was obsidian. After what felt like three minutes, I finally found my scythe; it was covered in a light layer of dust due to being here for three months.

After I stretched and whatnot, I started practicing, I wish we could bring armor home. One of the mandatory things in Grief Class is to wear armor, lowers the risk of harm and self-harm during a session, it doesn't look like armor knights would wear, it probably resembles one from this demigod movie that was shittier than the best book I've ever read, the book was far better and detailed than that shitty movie, the sequel was in between okay and no better. I took a stance, then I did blocks, slashes, swipes, then placed the scythe down to practice hand-to-hand, I threw punches, kicks, blocks, and dodging.

One of the very few things we have in common is that we all like playing video games, and there are times when Equius doesn't want to admit it. Though there are very few times when we even _play_ video games, we would mostly LARP; and at times, we would act out our own version of video games, movies, or certain games, kind of like fanfiction LARPing if you ask me.

After what felt like hours, I decided to stop practicing, I was panting, sweating, and my limbs were numb, and whatever strength I had left, I put my weapon away and went back upstairs, then up the other set of stairs, and finally, into my room, where I collapsed on my bed, with my face buried in my pillow, and purposefully passed out. I didn't even bother checking the time; I was too exhausted to even care. I swear on Sollux's 3-D like glasses, that today was the longest, most boring day I've ever experienced in my entire vacation, most people would be enjoying a day like this, they're probably at the pool, the beach, the arcade, a bar; basically somewhere they considered fun. Today is probably the only day when I personally somewhat know how Aradia feels.

I woke up but was still just lying there. If Vriska was here, she would've taken advantage of the situation by either sitting on me, use me as her human bed, or just push me off my bed.

After what felt like minutes, I closed my eyes again. I didn't hear the door open, I must've forgotten to close it again, but all I know is that I felt something heavy rest on the middle of my back. Is someone sitting on me again?! I groaned and started moving around until they got up, and when they did, I rolled to my back to see a girl with mid back length dark brown hair, pale gray eyes, was wearing a red shirt with a long dark gray skirt that reached to her ankles, and a poker face. What irritated me was the red eye liner and lipstick, how I dislike make-up, and that was just an understatement. This girl was Aradia Megido, my first friend.

I waved at her, hoping she would change her depressingly emotionless mask she always wore. But to no prevail, such a painful shame.

"Hi," was all she said, her voice was as emotionless as the expressionless face she's making.

I grabbed my notebook from the table where my clock was at, along with my pencil, and started writing.

"**So what would you like to do?**" and I showed her the page I've written on.

"Anything is fine."

I mentally sighed; I didn't even manage to crack the shell. I wrote again on a different page.

"**Would you like to play a board game?**"

"We could play with the Ouija Board." She suggested.

I quickly shook my head, I heard what happens if you mess with one, and I _refuse _to suffer the consequence of being haunted or killed by whatever the hell was summoned.

"Fine, we won't use the Ouija Board."

"**How about we play a video game?**"

"Like what?"

"**Rock Band or Lego Indiana Jones, it will be your pick.**"

She went to the shelf where my games are at and picked Band Hero.

"**Which instrument would you like to play?**"

"I'll play the bass."

I set up one of the guitars, and the drum set, along with the game. Aradia scrolled down the list of songs and picked Just a Girl by No Doubt, she picked easy on the bass, while I pick expert on drums. She actually sang pretty well. After playing, we just 'talked,' LARPed, and read and discussed anime and manga. She was smiling somewhat, that made me happy.

"Alvair?" she asked me.

"Hm?" was all I said in response.

"Do you still have that picture of the five of us?"

I knew what she meant, and I instantly nodded and went to the closet to find said picture. As I was finding it, a folded up one-sided-cotton blanket I only use for the colder seasons fell and landed on my head, I could've sworn I heard Aradia laugh softly, I couldn't help but smile.

Eventually, I found the box of pictures, opened it, and took out a specific picture. On the picture, it was one that had five kids in it, three boys and two girls. On the far left was a boy has blackish-brown hair, and has a left blue eye and the other was a right reddish brown, he was wearing glasses with the left lens blue and the other was red, kind of like his eyes. A shirt that was short sleeved, and black and white striped, and you can barely see black pants, due to the picture showing only the waist up of the five kids, and a calm look on his face, this was Sollux. On the far right was another boy had "black" hair and "light gray" eyes, he was wearing a gray long sleeve shirt, it was kind of hard to see what color his pants were because his shirt was a bit too big on him, he had a scowl on his face; this one was Karkat. In between Sollux and the one in the middle was Aradia, her hair was shorter back then, about passed shoulder length, she had this cheesy smile on her face, was wearing a red shirt, a white fedora and was wearing something gray, I don't remember if it was a skirt or shorts or something like that, one arm was around Sollux and the boy in the middle, he has short black hair, sapphire blue eyes, and was wearing a black shirt with an animated green snake, he had a classic smile on his face, it was me. I had my arm that wasn't scarred yet, resting on the other girl's shoulder. She had her right arm around Karkat, she has straight short orange hair and her eyes were teal, and she had a red and teal T-shirt, and her left hand was doing a peace sign, this was Terezi.

After staring at the picture for a few more seconds, I snapped out of my trance when Aradia asked me a question.

"Did you find it?" she asked me.

"Hm?" I asked when I turned to face her.

I don't talk to my friends, but at times, I would make somewhat of a way to communicate, I would do noises as a sign of saying 'What?,' 'Yes,' and 'No.' That, and I would make facial expressions and of course, writing down what I want to tell them.

"Did you find it?" she repeated.

"Mm-hmm," I responded, and then walked up to her.

I sat on the bed and handed her the picture, she stared at it for a bit, then looked at me.

"It brings back memories, doesn't it?"

I nodded, it was a good memory, the five of us were nine when Mom took the picture, though, I don't remember what happened before or after taking the picture.

I tried remembering what happened, but before I could, Aradia waved a hand in front of my face.

"You dosed off again, Al."

I gave her an apologetic expression.

"It's okay, you didn't have to look sorry, everyone doses off."

I just nodded, since it was true.

"Alvair?"

"Hm?"

"Is it true that you see me as your sister?"

I gave a small smile and nodded, and then I grabbed my notebook and wrote again.

"**I thought so since we act like siblings, just like Aazoth and Mituna.**"

"_Pleasedon'tlikeme,pleasedon'tlikeme,pleasedon'tlikeme!_" I hoped in my thoughts.

Aradia smiled lightly, and did something she hadn't done since a day before her coma, she hugged me.

"I'm surprised that you still cared for me, even though I pushed you away."

"**Of course, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't?**"

"A bad one?"

"**Exactly.**"

When I turned to face her again, she had a poker face again, at least I cherished the moment while it lasted. The rest of the time was just sitting there in silence, she gave back the picture as we sat there, and I put the picture back in the box as well as the putting the box in the closet. After probably a few hours, she had to leave, Haley was happy to see me, as well as Damara, though I still don't know what she's saying at times.

I returned to my room feeling bored again. I was just lying on my bed and waited for time to pass again, and just my luck, someone was trolling me. I opened Trollian, but this time, I checked who was logged in, there was Equius, Karkat, and Sollux, and Equius's Troll Tag was blinking, so that means that Karkat and Sollux must be arguing about something again. I looked at my clocked, 7:58 it said, as for Equius, I started wondering why he decided to troll me this late. But I answered him anyway by clicking on the blinking Troll Tag. I decided to use what I use at night, since in LARPing I'm a reaper at night, so I replace the phi symbols with capital O's and use small talk.

centaursTesticle [CT] began trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

[CT]: D- Hi Alvair

[UA]: O..O Hello Equiusss, are you enjoying your evening?

[CT]: D- Yes, are you?

[UA]: O..O It's fine.

[CT]: D- Was Nepeta behooving- er, behaving herself?

[UA]: O..O Yessss.

[CT]: D- Good, well, good night, it is e%cruciatingly late.

[UA]: O..O Okay, I'll sssee you sssoon.

centaursTesticle [CT] ceased trolling undeadApprentice [UA]

Equius Zahhak, always sleeps at eight at night and wakes up at five for an early workout. Most of my friends can't stand him, most meaning everyone but me and Nepeta. I find it completely sad, now that I think about it.

I should go to bed too, there's nothing wrong with sleeping early, so I went to my bed and fell asleep, which triggered the nightmare again.

* * *

Once again, I'm sorry for this being late, I'll try updating faster, anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and review what you thought


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